


An Honest Critique

by Janie Iscariot (TheOtherSarahJane)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Apologies, Bad Cooking, Comedy, Cooking, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Honesty, copious amounts of pasta, or at least an attempt, undyrus week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-22 22:46:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8304073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOtherSarahJane/pseuds/Janie%20Iscariot
Summary: After coming to the Surface, it was only a matter of time before Papyrus found out that Undyne was lying to him about the Royal Guard, and his cooking. While they may have already aired out all the hurt feelings this brought up, there’s still one thing Papyrus wants from Undyne before he can trust her again: an honest critique.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Was initially planning to make this a series before I released it, but this sat around on my computer for awhile and then Undyrus Week on tumblr snuck up on me and I decided to release it as-is. Would still like to eventually write out the actual drama that results from Papyrus finding out about Undyne lying about the Royal Guard, but as of right now I just have the making up afterward. Enjoy!

It was ready.

The table was set: their plates were both piled high with steaming masses of spaghetti, their forks laid out neatly beside them. Papyrus and Undyne glared intently across the table at each other, meeting each other’s eyes fully.

“ARE YOU READY?” He asked.

She nodded.

“WE’LL EAT EVERY BITE OF THIS, NO MATTER HOW IT TASTES.”

“Right.”

“AND AFTERWARD…”

“I’ll be 100% honest. I’ll be 150% honest! No more lying to spare your feelings. I swear it.” A smile curved one corner of her mouth upward.

Papyrus’ expression softened for a moment, even as nervousness fluttered through his mind. But in a second he was back to business.

He picked up his fork. Undyne did the same, slamming it down on the table with the same fire she gave to every challenge she tackled.

“GO!” Papyrus shouted, and stabbed his fork into the pasta.

The two hurriedly shoveled spaghetti into their mouths, scarfing down as much as they could with every bite. The heat was enough to make even Papyrus flinch a little—and he wasn’t very sensitive at all to heat or cold like Undyne was. He turned his gaze up to look at her halfway through eating, and nearly spat out the mouthful he’d just taken.

She had apparently attempted to stuff the entire plateful into her mouth at once, and as a result she had about half the noodles dangling from her face like some sort of bizarre pasta waterfall. Her cheeks were bulging comically with what was evidently the rest of the plate, her eyes watering but still relentlessly determined to finish the rest of this spaghetti as if the safety of every monster in the world depended on it.

She shoved yet another steaming forkful in her mouth, and Papyrus could swear her eyes were brimming over with tears. He could feel his own face twisting up as well—the heat combined with the burnt, oddly chewy texture of the noodles, the occasional crunch from a section that somehow managed to be both burnt and not even a little bit cooked, was enough to make him want to gag, but he soldiered on anyway, and he could see Undyne was doing the same.

Within a couple more minutes, their plates were cleaned save for a few stray noodles that they couldn’t be bothered to finish off, and Undyne and Papyrus slumped back in their chairs, their stomachs full to bursting and their mouths still reeling in confusion from the taste and heat. Their eyes drifted back to meet across the table once again.

“SO…HOW WAS IT?” Papyrus asked, somewhat timidly.

Undyne chewed her lip for a brief moment, and her eye flicked to the side.

“Well…it was…”

Papyrus stared intently.

“It was…”

Undyne’s lips twitched, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile as she let out a snort. She tried to stifle the laughter, but it came spilling out within seconds, until she was leaning forward, an arm over her gut, and Papyrus could only gape at her in confusion.

“It sucked!” Undyne blurted out suddenly.

Papyrus blinked, not sure how to feel. It certainly wasn’t good to hear that—it was the first time anyone had told him his cooking was terrible. And yet…

“HEH. NYEH-HEH. I GUESS IT WAS PRETTY BAD, HUH?” He found himself smiling with her.

“It was AWFUL!” She was nearly doubled over in her seat. “Oh my god, half of it wasn’t even cooked and the other half was burnt!”

He was laughing with her now, genuinely.

“AND…AND THERE WAS STILL WATER IN EVERY BITE! THERE’S WATER ON THE PLATE NOW!”

“Oh my god, I know! It’s so bad! How could I teach you to cook like this? I’m insane! I shouldn’t be teaching anyone!”

“AND I SHOULDN’T BE FEEDING THIS TO ANYONE!”

By this point they were howling with laughter, their breaths coming in gasps and their bellies aching. They leaned forward and their foreheads met, and slowly the laughter wracking their bodies calmed and subsided into a gentle giggling.

“I guess we both need cooking lessons,” Undyne said.

“I SUPPOSE SO,” Papyrus agreed, then met her eyes somewhat bashfully. “I, ERM, BELIEVE A THANK YOU IS IN ORDER, UNDYNE.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Undyne said just as bashfully. “I’m just glad I could make it up to you. I didn’t realize how much I’d hurt you.”

“WELL I’M GOING TO! SO YOU HAD BETTER PREPARE FOR THE MOST AMAZING, MOST GRATITUDINOUS, MOST ELOQUENT THANKING YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED!”

“Pffft. Lay it on me then!”

Papyrus straightened his posture and puffed out his chest for dramatic effect.

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WISH TO BESTOW MY EVERLASTING THANKS UPON YOU, THE UNDYING UNDYNE, THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD AND THE HERO OF MONSTERS EVERYWHERE!”

Undyne laughed again at that and laid one arm across the table to reach toward him, keeping the other firmly around her aching stomach.

“No prob, Paps,” she replied. “And, uh, I’m sorry about. You know. All the lying and stuff about the Royal Guard. It kind of sucked to do, I know, but I just didn’t wanna hurt your feelings, you know? I mean, I know that I did anyway, probably way worse than if I had just told you, but I wasn’t really thinking about that at the time, so…uh, I’m not really sure where this is going. I’m bad at apologies. I’m just sorry, OK?”

She gave him another wide, toothy smile.

“We’re still friends, right?”

Something rose in Papyrus’ face and chest, a happy warmth he didn’t often feel. He reached down and took the hand Undyne was offering him.

“FEAR NOT, UNDYNE!” He reassured her, gripping her hand tightly. “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND. ON ONE CONDITION.”

Undyne’s brow furrowed.

“What’s that?”

“DON’T LIE TO ME AGAIN, PLEASE. EVEN IF YOU THINK IT’LL HURT MY FEELINGS. BECAUSE I, PAPYRUS, AM STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE WHATEVER VERBAL BEATINGS YOU MIGHT DEAL OUT! BUT HAVING YOUR BEST FRIEND HIDE THINGS FROM YOU…WELL, I’M OBVIOUSLY STRONG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THAT TOO, SINCE I DID IT FOR SO LONG, BUT I REALLY DON’T WANT TO!”

“Verbal beatings? What kind of friend do you think I am? The only beatings I deal out are physical beatings! OF JUSTICE! …But not to you.”

She laced her fingers with his.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Papyrus,” she said, more quietly. “Besties forever?”

Papyrus squeezed her hand back, an even bigger smile than he thought possible blooming on his face. There were a lot of things rushing through him right now—relief, joy, and some things he couldn’t quite place but didn’t really need to.

“BESTIES FOREVER!” He affirmed happily.


End file.
